When a TV that supports CEC is connected to a Blu-ray player, the combination provides the user with additional features, such as one touch play process that allows the TV to automatically change to the Blu-Ray player, when it turns on.
There are several functions and processes that are defined by the CEC standard that are useful for the present application. For example, when the TV, knowing that is connected to the Blu-ray disk player and displaying its content is able to use its normal remote control, without any modification or special setup to control the Blu-ray player.
This process of using the TV's remote to control a different device, even when they belong to different brands, is a powerful process that can be exploited to develop and alternative to the overcomplicated and typically expensive universal remote controls. Devices may belong to categories such as TV, Player, Recording Device, Tuner or Audio System. The Remote Control Pass Through process allows for a TV to send a universal control code to the device currently on display. The commands are standardized and supported by all brands and manufacturers. Unfortunately, the CEC standard has not taken off as much as was expected. While 100% of Blu-ray players support it, less than 30% of TVs in the market have implemented CEC on their TVs. Manufacturers have chosen to include CEC control on some of their high-end products but may not include it in lower end models. The result is that the great potential for creating an effective solution to the multiple remote control in the living room has not come to pass.